A Promise Once Broken
by ThePurpleRose
Summary: After a mysterious incident forces the truth out, the Named go to a strange realm to help its inhabitants after a volcano eruption. But they find themselves caught up in conflict so ancient they can barely comprehend. Please read & review! ON HOLD!
1. Gone

**A/N: I'm back!**** Oh yeah! Just like I said I would! Anyway, moving on with our lives. I was thinking about writing this after I re-read the Key a while back. It starts at the bit after the immortals are killed. It's a bit serious and Angsty at the beginning but it does get funnier in the next chapter…I think. So enjoy…**

_**Disclaimer: I don't own GoT but I do own some characters and the plot… in a way…**_

**Matt**

Isabel turns to me, shaking her head: there's nothing she can do. Both brother and sister are dead.

She consoles Arkarian with a hug, steering him over to the rest of the named. He's in shock: Just staring into space with his eyes glazed over. It may take a while for his father's death to sink in but at least he's doing better than Lady Arabella, who is currently trying to get Lorian to wake up.

Her fingers curl around the dagger lodged deeply in his throat. She quickly pulls it out, applying pressure to the wound as if by ridding him of the sharp object, she can bring him back to life. Barely any blood spills from the wound because Lorian has died and cannot be revived. She checks the immortal's wrists for a pulse but finds none, like we all knew she would.

As I make my way over to her with Lord Penbarin and Queen Brystianne at my side, Lady Arabella begins doing chest compressions on her dead leader.

"8…9…10…Come on Lorian. Wake up…1…2…3…4…5… Please don't leave me…6…7…8…9…10"

Lord Penbarin places a hand on her shoulder. "He's gone, Arabella"

She shrugs the hand off. "He'll wake up" She insists. "He's unconscious. He'll be fine." Softening her tone of voice as she gently slaps Lorian's pale cheeks, she pleads. "Come on. Wake up, my dear" She sounds as if she's waking a small child for school rather than deluding herself about a dead immortal. She loves him as much as I love Neriah – too much to let go.

Tears are rolling down Queen Brystianne's cheeks as Lady Arabella, weeping herself, listens for a non-existent heartbeat. Lord Penbarin drops the volume of his voice for another attempt to stop his fellow tribunal member. "Arabella, there is nothing you can do. Lorian is dead."

Lady Arabella is sobbing now. "No, He's not!" She screams at her old friend. I step back a bit; this coming from delicate, kind Lady Arabella is shocking. Though, it's her tone of voice - so full of childlike innocence - that drives a sharp pang of empathy through my heart. "Why isn't he waking up?"

"He is gone" Queen Brystianne's voice is barely a whisper.

Lady Arabella says firmly, through the tears. "He's not! He wouldn't do that! He wouldn't leave us like that."

"You saw it." Queen Brystianne reasons quietly. "Lorian didn't want to leave us like that. He had no choice."

Lord Penbarin explains: "Lorian is dead and nothing we do will change that."

"We can bring him back!" Lady Arabella sobs, pulling me to my knees beside her by the hand. "Matt, bring him back!"

"I can't" I reply firmly. "It's not possible."

"It is!" She argues. "I've seen proof! It is possible!"

"I can't" I repeat.

She clutches my arm pleadingly. "Then call your father. Please Matt!"

I nod, but there is no need to call Dartemis; he appears the other side of his brother's body. Although silent tears are rolling down his cheeks, his voice sounds as strong as usual as he takes Lorian's hand and says a word I don't understand before laying it back down on the grass.

Lady Arabella enquires, still sobbing. "Can you bring him back?"

Dartemis shakes his head. "I am no miracle worker." With that, he leaves to speak with Arkarian and Isabel.

I don't know which touches my feelings more, Lady Arabella's cry of anguish echoing though the forest or her heart broken, mournful tone of voice as she says. "You said you wouldn't leave me."

It feels to me that when she plant a kiss on Lorian's forehead, she leaves behind her heart, dreams and love, leaving only grief and guilt behind. She collapses, sobbing uncontrollably onto Lorian's unmoving chest.

Watching her, I feel a sudden pang of guilt. I should've stopped this; I'm the leader of the Named. But when I think about it, I was unable to. I, the immortal so of a very powerful immortal, was powerless.

Lady Arabella suddenly rises, anger blazing through her eyes. She grasps the dagger that killed her love with white knuckles.

"This is all your fault!" She screeches, raising the dagger, poised to throw it. I turn to stop her but Lord Penbarin holds me back as Lady Arabella, eaten up by her grief, sends the dagger slicing through the air and into the Goddess' corpse before the lady collapses back onto Lorian's chest once more, her body having as sobs overwhelm her.

**Dark stuff. Anyway, w****hat did you think? Review pretty please!!!!!!!!!! **

**Next chapter has a bit of humour it. How does that work I hear you say? It does, you'll see if you read it……**

**:-p Smile, it's Cheeseday!!!**


	2. Memories

**A/N: I told you I'd update eventually. I also told you that this one would have a bit of humour – and it does so woot!**

_**Disclaimer: see prologue**_

**My ruler tool isn't working so…..**

**Athenia**

I feel tears welling up in my eyes as those three familiar faces stare up at me, smiling, but I won't cry them because I'm stronger than that. I know then, with my fingers softly stroking their happy faces that I have to watch the film one more time before my two nieces return in four hours time.

I conjure up a screen and mentally hook it up to the camera sitting on the table. Out of all the films I made of them, this is my favourite because they weren't aware of the camera on the table at the time. It is a film of them acting normally on one of Lorian's days off.

I fall silent, memorising every detail as the picture comes up.

_The two eldest, Lorian and Lathenia are laughing at something at Dartemis' expense as the three nineteen year olds enter the room. __Dartemis plonks himself down on the sofa, while Lathenia sits on the floor, her yellow-gold eyes sparkling with joy, and Lorian opens a window before climbing outside to sit on the window ledge, as he always does._

_Dartemis laughs. "You'd look insane if you did that when we had visitors here."_

"_But we don't so there!" Lorian replies_

_Lathenia produces a list from her pocket and begins to add something to it. Lorian raises one eyebrow to Dartemis, who shrugs and mouths, "clearly mad"_

_Lorian nods and mouths back. "Definitely"_

_Lathenia hands her list to Lorian, who reads it silently. He finishes it frowning._

"_Question?" Lathenia questions._

_Lorian corrects her. "Questions. Who's Bob? And why do I not know who Bob is?"_

"_Bob is one of those thingies where each letter is the first letter of a word."_

_Lorian nods, contented. "I see. Of course I will teach you to drive – and if you bring food, I might even teach you to drive well!"_

"_Lorian!" Lathenia exclaims._

_Dartemis is trying very hard not to laugh, while Lorian grins as he explains: "What? You only wrote 'Learn to drive.' And that's not specifying whether or not you want to drive well. So I actually don't have to teach you well."_

"_Yeah but you know what I meant!"_

"_That doesn't mean I'm going to take it the way you intended, though does it?"_

_Lathenia raises her eyebrows, fingering something around her neck with an evil grin plastered to her face._

_Lorian laughs. "Don't worry, of course I will teach you well. I don't want to have to fix the car billions more times than I already do Cough Dartemis Cough"_

"_Oi!" the youngest yelled, throwing a book that misses Lorian's head by inches._

"_It's a cold hard fact, Dartemis. Learn to live with it." Lorian says. There's a pause before he continues. "Out of interest, does Bob sit for bits of bread?"_

_Lathenia laughs. "No! Why would it?"_

_Lorian shrugs. "Well, you might be planning to suffocate yourself with bread. With you, anything's a possibility!"_

_Dartemis is in hysterics now. Lathenia replies. "Just 'cause your life revolves around food doesn't mean mine does!"_

_Lorian replies. "The sad thing is: you're right, it does. I only come home when I can eat or am injured."_

"_Then why don't you quit your job?" Lathenia enquires._

"_No." Lorian replies adamantly. "I will die a warrior."_

_Dartemis bursts out: "What? Even when you're old?"_

"_Yep."_

_Lathenia grins. "You're already old!"_

"_Yeah, two minutes older than you!" Lorian laughs._

_Lathenia stops grinning abruptly. "You know, we're nineteen years old!"_

"_Of course we know!" Dartemis answers, having sobered up a bit._

"_I just don't _feel_ nineteen." Lathenia states._

_Lorian remarks. "That's because you have a mental age of five."_

"_Oi! At least I don't have a mental age of a million."_

_Dartemis tries to be fair. "Actually, his mental age ranges from five to a million."_

"_Yours is stuck at seven." Lorian observes._

_Lathenia agrees. "It sure is."_

At the sound of the front door closing, I quickly turn the camera off and hide it from view. I wonder what my children are doing now and why they've not contacted me since they left five years ago. Even with Thea and Carina, my nieces, the house seems awfully empty and silent without them.

Absent-mindedly, I check my CS for any calls I've missed even though I always have it on me just in case they call. I can't help but worry about them although I know I shouldn't; you don't get anywhere by being pessimistic now do you?

I can't help but ask myself: are they safe? What if they're not? What if they're hurt – or worse, dead?

I guess that's just the curse of a mother.

**A/N: It's a bit short but I have a feeling that most of these chapters will be. I'm going to do this story from the point of view of more than two characters. **

**Please review:-p**


	3. Explainations

**A/N: Hopefully, the next chapter (After this one) will be the action scene-y thing. I hope you like this one though. It's my theory.**

_**Disclaimer: I wish I did own GoT, But I don't. Awwwwww! I'm all sad now.**_

**Dartemis**

I finally escape the company of my brother's hysterical soul-mate, slipping away into the woods as a small bird. When I'm convinced I'm out of ear-shot and the vision of the tribunal and named, I change back into myself and remove a small piece of technology about the size of a ping-pong ball from my pocket.

Willing it to work with my mind, I hear a whirring before the voice of one of the most important people in my life at the moment reaches my ears and fresh tears form in my eyes.

"Hello?" She questions.

I take a deep breath before continuing. "Listen, before you babble on at me, I've some important news to tell you. I will be with a group of earth warriors on the rubble by the lake. You'll sense which direction when you get here."

She replies, calmly. "Yes. I won't be long; I'll take the car. See you soon my son."

"See you soon mother."

I take a couple of calming breaths before I form into the small bird again to rejoin the others. I hold my hand up in the air, asking for everyone's attention. I don't begin to speak until they are all seated.

"There is something I must tell you all." I explain. "All but two of us here know the full story of why we fought the order here today. Information has been withheld from you people and for that, I apologise, although it was a precaution we had to take for if that information had reached the wrong ears, we may have found ourselves in a much worse predicament.

"You see, the earth is not the last realm of the living. There is one other. The realm I speak of now is the realm of the immortals. It is where Lorian, Lathenia and I came from to set up the necessary defences, which would stop the insecurities of our realm spreading through the shattered rift. Lorian and I completed the task of fixing that rift on this side, but it was not enough: the rift was beyond repair and got even more unstable when Lathenia followed us through.

"She later died here. It was a spirit of the rift who controlled her body and became the Goddess of Chaos. It's that we've been fighting, and with Lorian severely weakened by the creation of the rift we used to get here, it looked like we were not going to win. But Lorian wouldn't leave until we had killed the Goddess. He was a warrior, so it was natural for him to do that. And he was used to having so much more power than that, for Lorian was once far more powerful than me, but I could not convince him to leave for back-up as he knew she would conquer all in her quest for power and he would not let her do that." I pause to let them take all this in.

Then I continue. "Another tale is that our parents killed each other, it is another half-truth. Technically, they did but the healers, with Lorian's help, were able to revive our mother."

Matthew bursts out. "So I have a Grandma I've never been told about!"

I smile. "Yes, that is what I just said."

But Matthew is furious. "Any more family members I don't know about?"

"You have three more cousins – Lathenia's daughters – Thea and Carina."

Arkarian surprises me by speaking up, if a little quietly. "What about the name of the third one?"

"She too knows nothing of her parentage and will not be told until she comes back from the healing chambers in Athens. And no, Marduke is not the father of these children." I add, picking up a few wayward thoughts from Dillon.

"Are there any other rumours that are untrue?" Lady Elenna enquires.

I nod. "It is not possible to become genderless, but Lathenia didn't know that, so it was an easy way to protect all the female tribunal members from Lathenia's plotting."

I don't get to talk anymore, as a black car appearing at the edge of the lake steals all of my breath. It draws up directly in front of me and out of it gets my mother, a small figure dressed all in black with her crimson curls tied messily in a ponytail, drawing attention to her soft violet eyes, so much like Lorian's. She almost knocks me over with her hug.

When she finally allows me to breathe again, she says. "Well, aren't you going to introduce me to this fine group of warriors, Dartemis?"

"Oh yes." I reply, singling out each person with a gesture. "Lady Elenna, Lord Alexandon, Lord Meridian, Sir Syford, King Richard, Rochelle, Dillon, Ethan, Shaun, Jimmy, Isabel. Arkarian, whose Lorian's son. Matt, my son. Neriah, and Lady Arabella. This is my mother, Athenia."

"I sense that the reason you have summoned me here is not a good one." She assumes.

I nod. "No, it is not. You may have gained Arkarian and Matt, but we have all lost Lorian and Lathenia."

"Meaning what exactly?" She prompts, though I can see by the way tears are glistening in her eyes that she understands precisely what I mean.

"Lathenia died shortly after she came here. She was taken over by a rift spirit. Lorian and the rift spirit killed each other earlier today."

She blinks back tears. "I see." She says, her voice wavering slightly. "Then I need to see the bodies."

As if on cue, Lord Penbarin and Queen Brystianne, who matt told to prepare the bodies of my siblings for burial, come running up to us.

Queen Brystianne speaks. "We couldn't pull the dagger from Lathenia's throat, so we went to get some soldiers to help-"

Lord Penbarin finishes: "- And when we came back, Lorian's body had gone!"

**A/N: Oooh! A little cliffie for you! Aren't I Evil? MUAHAHA**

**Anyway, please review!**

**:-p**


	4. Conflict

**A/N****: This is the action chapter as planned, a little obvious but yeah… I hope it rocks anyway…**

_**Disclaimer: I don't own GoT, and I very much doubt I ever will.**_

**Isabel**

Gone? Uh-oh, I don't like the sound of that. It's impossible that any of the powerful members of the order escaped after Lathenia was killed, they dropped like flies!

Then Arkarian whispers a word that chills me to the bone. "Keziah."

I question, "The wizard?"

Arkarian grunts in reply. I vaguely glimpse Lady Arabella running into the trees, but do nothing to stop her; I'm numb from fear. What if he comes for Arkarian next to kill the 'one that got away'?

Arkarian goes after her, reassuring me as he does. "I'll be fine, Isabel. Remember your job."

Ah yes, guarding Rochelle. I move over to her with a genuine question in my mind. "Do you think it could be Keziah?"

Rochelle shrugs. "Could be. He's lost his mistress and his long life will end soon, so he has motive, but then so do all the other members of the Order." She says rationally. What a change from her usual cynical self!

"You're probably-" My sentence is cut off by a shriek from the forest.

"ISABEL! ISABEL!"

The desperation of it sends me sprinting to the direction of the sound as fast as I can force my legs to move. The scene before me is one of my worst nightmares.

Lady Arabella is kneeling at the side of Arkarian, who lays unmoving with one of Ethan's golden arrows nearby. She's trying desperately to get his heart beating again, while sobbing almost as hard as she had for Lorian. I try to get to them but some force-field is preventing me from getting any closer.

"Oh my god…" Ethan breathes, directly behind me. I look behind to see that the named and the tribunal have followed me. Even Athenia has. In fact, the only one who hasn't is Dartemis.

I rip my weapon of light from its sheath and strike the force-field, but other than a few sparks, nothing happens.

"Matt, can you get me in there?" I ask seriously.

Matt replies, equally as serious. "I'll see what I can do."

Then I hear it.

That earth shattering roar I've dreaded for so long now.

So not even Neriah's lightning weapon has killed the monster. I'm beginning to wonder if he can die at all. The monster! Just 'cause he made a mess of his life doesn't mean he can make a mess of ours! I project these thoughts so everyone can hear them; I mean, why can't he just die?

_Calm down Isabel_, I tell myself, _you don't have to touch to heal now._

I try to heal him, but Arkarian's not breathing. Arkarian, my soul mate, is dead. I watch Lady Arabella tying to resuscitate him pleading to her in my thoughts. If she can just get his heart beating, I can heal him, then everything will be alright again. But I know, deep down, that Arkarian has taken Rochelle's place.

Marduke laughs a laugh that makes rage bubble deep inside me until Ethan's hands on my shoulders are all that's stopping me from throwing myself at the force-field and pounding it down with my fists so I can exterminate that beast for good. "You're wasting precious time on him, Lady Arabella – or should I say, Lady Charlotte?"

"What, like I wasted my time and breath on you? I think not." Lady Arabella replies, without even pausing for a moment.

"Your fears are about to be realised." Marduke taunts. "He will die just like your soul mate. Both father and son are destined for a fate of a similar nature."

"Don't listen to him Isabel." Ethan instructs.

It's that line that brings tears to my eyes. I just can't help but to remember when I was healing Shaun's damaged heart and Arkarian said: "Don't listen to the poison that flows from Marduke's mouth."

Another voice jolts me out of this memory. "You think?" The conflict in the force-field has my immediate attention.

The force-field is now glowing, so the figures are distorted, as are the words, but I can see that Dartemis is now kneeling by Arkarian's side with glowing hands that he presses to Arkarian's forehead, like he's transferring energy to his nephew. Lady Arabella is standing up to face Marduke with a long sword in her hand. Marduke just laughs.

"You're wasting your strength on him. You're not strong enough to resurrect. Not here. Not now." Marduke states. "Two here will die today, but I would just love to eradicate you, immortal. Shame about that immortal killing immortal rule, eh? What do you think Lady Charlotte?"

"I think there's only one here who's destined to die today, and that being is you." Lady Arabella speaks with an air of authority and confidence about her words.

Marduke launches a blow at Lady Arabella, but she parries it with surprising speed. She smiles. "And to think, I once trusted you. I think we all did at one point, but you abused that trust. Shame you won't see your daughter again, eh?" She mimics.

Their swords clash. Lady Arabella fights fiercely but it's obvious that Marduke is gaining the upper hand as she tires. My attention goes from them to Arkarian and Dartemis. Arkarian's chest is rising and falling but I find that I can do nothing but watch as Dartemis sustains his life.

Suddenly, Marduke laughs: his blade has pierced Lady Arabella's shoulder, and while I can heal her so she's unharmed, she's still unarmed, as the force of this blow knocked her sword out of her hand. Marduke pins her to him, holding his blade to her throat.

"Tell them, my lady." He commands. "Tell them that you're not the honourable, trustworthy tribunal member they think you are! Tell them your secret. Tell them who you really are!"

"They are my colleagues. They don't know everything about my life, as I don't know everything about theirs. They must know that I too was a Guardian before I became a member of the tribunal, but it's none of their business if I changed my name." She retaliates, choking as Marduke tightens his hold on her.

"Tell them why!" Marduke instructs, pushing the blade closer to her throat.

"Because I was on the run from the Goddess." Lady Arabella answers calmly.

"Why was that?"

"She knew my identity and I was on the opposing side."

"Maybe it would help you tell the truth if I told you my little secret." Marduke hisses, smiling lopsidedly. "It was I who turned you in to the Goddess, and watched you take your last breath, hours after the Goddess herself had left, before I carried your body back to the citadel as a hero!"

Lady Arabella releases a cry of rage that burns through my body more than the words Marduke spoke. She grabs something from behind Marduke's back, turning on him, to pin him on the floor with a sharp object to his throat. The object is one of Ethan's arrows.

"Now, I'm going to do the same to you." She says in an acid tone.

Dartemis calls: "Through the heart! It'll be more painful!"

With one swift, fluid movement, she pierces Marduke's heart with the arrow, then steps back as he writhes on the ground, his blood painting the grass crimson. He roars in agony before his beastly form finally goes limp.

The distorting force-field fades with the life of its creator. I sprint to Arkarian with Athenia at my side. I'm vaguely aware the figure beside my broken soul mate walking away as I take one of Arkarian's hands and Athenia takes the other. I become aware of another healer's efforts when I'm trying to repair the vast amount of damage. Then it dawns on me that Athenia is a healer too. I let her know with my thoughts that I'm glad of her help.

She lets me know hers even though I'm not a truthseer. _I appreciate your help too. We'll do a better and quicker job together._

With Arkarian healed but unconscious, I go to give my thanks to Dartemis while Athenia watches Arkarian for me. But the silver-haired figure isn't Dartemis.

It's Lorian.

**A/N: ****Who couldn't see that coming? Tell me if you couldn't; I thought it was a bit too obvious. And I know I didn't kill anyone but I need Arkarian and Lorian for the next few chapters… and Lady Arabella.**

**Next chapter: a bombshell is dropped on the Guard (Not literally (yet)). I think you can all probably guess what it is.**

**Review and tell me what you think of this chapter, and what you think the bombshell is.**

**:-p I'll try to update soon.**


	5. Bombshells

**AN: I'm back! ****I hope you enjoy this chapter. I started writing it yesterday but I was kicked off the computer, so enjoy… And if you like Eragon, read my other fic 'The House of Eragon'.**

_**Disclaimer: If I owned it, I'd be writing for a continuation trilogy to be published, not writing a fanfic.**_

**Arkarian**

I open my eyes to find two soft brown eyes staring into mine. "Isabel." I whisper hoarsely as I take in my surroundings. It's dark and the moon and stars shine brightly. We're in a small clearing in the forest. I can see logs laid around in a circle and Ethan is asleep with his bow and arrow in his hands barely four feet away.

"Shh." She hushes, stroking my hair. "Marduke shot you with one of Ethan's arrows. You're still very weak."

As much as I love her, she is stating the obvious a bit much. She's hiding something from me. "What are you hiding?" I ask, annoyed by the weakness in my voice. I push myself up into sitting position, wincing at the pain it causes.

"Well, you know Ethan's arrows are poisoned and they kill real quick?"

"Yes." I prompt.

"You were dead by the time Athenia and I got to you." She takes a breath.

I take her hand. "Athenia is a healer?"

"Oh yes." She says a little more animatedly. "A very good one and she says she'll teach me some of her little tricks. But anyway, someone brought you back and kept you alive while Lady Arabella fought Marduke."

"Did she win?"

"Yeah, she killed him for good. Anyway, I'm trying to tell you something important here, so the least you could do is listen!"

"Sorry." I mumble.

"I thought it was Dartemis at first, but…" She trails off.

"But?" Now she's started to tell me, I do want to hear the rest of this important news.

"It was Lorian."

"Isabel," I say softly. "He's dead. My father died."

"Ethan!" Isabel hisses, poking the sleeping boy in the ribs with a twig. "I'll prove it to you. Lorian says he'll explain how he's here when you wake up. ETHAN!"

"What?" Ethan says sleepily.

"Some protector you are! Arkarian's awake!"

Ethan hugs me gently. "You had us all worried there!" He turns to Isabel. "If anyone came, I would have woken up and helped you."

"Just go and get the others." Isabel says, slapping him playfully

Ethan rushes off into the trees and returns a while later with the other named and the remaining tribunal members with, Dartemis and Athenia. Behind them, with Lady Arabella, who's crying tears of happiness, is my father.

My jaw drops, and it takes great will power to pull it up again as they all settle on the conveniently placed logs. Everyone is silent, waiting for Lorian to speak as with the tribunal meetings, initiations and trials.

"I know you all want an explanation as to how I came to be here when you all saw me die at the hands of my sister." My father begins. "But you will find that out for yourselves soon enough. You won't truly understand until you know more than I can safely tell you here.

"Arkarian, I've not been entirely honest with you and I would've liked to explain all this to you privately but I've not much time to explain all this twice – for tomorrow, we of the guard are going back through the rift I created, into the realm of the immortals. That rift will be open most of the time from now onwards. The guard has a tough time ahead of us, getting rid of all the underworld creatures from this realm. The immortals are rebuilding their realm after the volcano erupted after a great flood, reshaping and cleansing the land.

"There are magicians like Dartemis in our realm who would be willing to teach those of you who have potential, and also there are those who share your skills and will teach you to better yourselves. You see, Dartemis and I are fortunate in that we know all we do but immortals too have their own individual skills so some areas of your training have been neglected down to ignorance."

Okay, we're going away on a training exercise. That I can handle, but I'm getting the feeling that there's more Lorian has yet to reveal, something that will surprise me.

Lorian absorbs my thoughts with ease. "That there is. Arkarian, I told you, when you returned from the underworld, that I gave you the power to stop aging because you were not born immortal, but what I told you was merely a half-truth. I gave you the power to stop aging because, like Marduke, you would've died without it." He pauses.

I'm impatient. Whatever it is, I'd like to hear it now, not in half an hour's time. "And?"

His violet eyes connect with mine as he says this next words. "You are immortal."

Everyone begins to mutter against themselves. I just go numb. He's lying. He must be; I don't heal myself when I'm badly injured like an immortal. I can be killed by mortals. If this is some kind of joke, it's a very bad one. "What?"

"You are immortal. Arkarian, your mother did not die in childbirth; she was healed when she got back to the house for she was a member of the guard. But Lathenia found out her identity after she killed Keziah's father, her wizard at the time. She was forced to fake her own death to protect both you and her."

"But that's-" I argue.

"Incredibly dangerous? Yes was, taking her away from the safety of the Duchess' household, but it was necessary. I gave you a disguise, so that your eyes were blue to anyone except me, my tribunal and your mother, and your hair blonde. It took only four years for Lathenia to find you both. Luckily, we had a warning and I was able to warn your mother and her protector, so that Lathenia never knew you were there.

"But she blew up the house you lived in before transporting your mother and herself, body and all, into the past so that your mother would tire quicker. A dirty trick, but it worked. We sent the protector to help but he was too late. Your mother died, and my sister had wasted a minimal amount of energy on her.

"You had survived, but the energy that Lathenia had sent through that house had rendered you unable to heal yourself in the way that us immortals do."

"So why did you not tell me any of this before?" I demand.

My father replies. "If I had, you would've become over confident. You would've wondered why you couldn't be reckless like Dartemis, Lathenia and I were. And because, I would've had to tell you something else, and that would've put Lady Arabella and possibly Lord Penbarin in danger."

"So are you going to tell me now?" I snap, immediately feeling guilty afterwards. I mumble. "Sorry."

"Don't be: you have a right to know. Your mother is my soul mate, and she died in the past." I can see where this is going: he went back to save her. Lorian nods. "I went into the middle realm to bring her back. But she had Moinni roots-"

Athenia adds. "The Moinni are a group of immortals whose ancestors were law breakers, banished to the area of extreme cold near the heart of the realm. The original warriors died and their descendants are genuinely nice people."

"She came from the middle realm looking just like the Moinni, so she could no longer live in the mortal realm; she just looked too different. That wasn't the problem, as she was due to become a tribunal member- like Neriah – anyway. The problem was that you wouldn't have been safe with the guard then. So we had to send you back to France until you were eighteen years old and your gift set in.

"Your mother changed her name so that Lathenia wouldn't recognise her when they met in the future. Your mother is Lady Arabella."

**AN: See, LLAMAS WILL RULE THE WORLD, you were right! Well done and thanks for reviewing. You rock my non-existent toe socks!**

**Please review! I don't block anonymous reviews 'cause it's really mean! And any input is really useful!**

**:-p I will try to update soon!**


	6. Journey

**AN: There's a little humour in this chapter. If you like random funny fics, read my other fic 'The House of GoT'. Anyway, here's the chapter. Enjoy…**

_**Disclaimer: I don't get paid for this, so what's the point in suing anyway? (Sigh) I don't own it though.**_

**Rochelle**

As I wait by the lake for Isabel and Matt to arrive, I'm filled with a new sense of hope. Maybe there's someone who can teach me how to tame my hands there! I ask Arkarian this and he smiles.

"Maybe, you won't know until we get there." He answers cryptically. He's taking the news that Lady Arabella is his mother well. It doesn't surprise me because I tested Lady Arabella for loyalty and found love for Lorian. It is slightly obvious that they love each other though; you'd have to be blind not to catch the looks they send each other.

Matt found out from Lorian when he condemned Lady Arabella but Isabel and Ethan had noticed it too. I wonder if Arkarian ever wondered if she was his mother. I wonder if he even realised that she and Lorian have feelings for each other.

"Sorry I'm late!" Isabel babbles, running up the hill with Matt in tow. "I overslept."

"We guessed." Ethan says, beaming. "Right, Rochelle?" He lays a hand on my shoulder in a friendly manner, but it makes my pulse quicken anyway.

"Pretty much." I reply. What has gotten into me? I know I can't have Ethan. I hurt him too much to ever become more than just friends, and it was all because of Marduke. I didn't want to hurt Ethan and Matt. I was told to, and I could hardly turn around and say 'no', could I? He would've tortured me. But I still wish I'd said no.

"You alright, Roh?" Dillon asks, jolting me out of my thoughts.

I realise that now we're in a place I've never seen before. The sky is a bright orange and I see that the sun is only half risen, bathing the earth in a golden glow. Right ahead of us is a forest. I expect to hear birds singing and the buzzing of insects, but there's none of that. It's totally silent. And although that should creep me out, I get a welcoming sense of complete safety.

Athenia speaks: "I will take the car to the palace with Lady Arabella, Arkarian and Isabel. The rest of you will take a short walk to the back entry of the palace with Lorian and Dartemis. It's the same route as before."

With that, we set off into the forest with Lorian in the front and Dartemis at the back. I find that as I walk through this forest, my mind empties of all of my worries and I am able to just enjoy the scenery and silence.

It doesn't take that long for us to reach the palace but it seems like an age. The place is sunken into the ground and two girls with red hair like Lathenia's are trying to re-attach a ground floor window frame to the wall.

As we near the front door, the shortest yells. "Ouch!"

The other one laughs. "It's not funny, Thea! That hurt!"

"Sorry." Thea apologises, still laughing. She turns to see us. "You took your time! How long does it take to fix a rift?"

"A lot longer than you think." Dartemis replies. "It's been a thousand years for us."

"And you didn't even think to call?" Thea's companion questions.

Lorian answers. "I might've done if could have. Now, who broke the window?"

Thea says. "She did."

"But it was your fault!"

Lorian chuckles. "You should've blamed it on the weather or one of Dartemis' dogs, or better yet, not thrown stuff near the window." I was expecting him to scold them or tut at them or something, being the leader of the Guard, but he surprises me by doing that.

Thea laughs. "Gran's waiting for you in the lounge by the way. The big one, and she'd got three people with her."

"We know." Dartemis says, leading us all into the palace. We follow a couple of corridors before we enter a large room, with a load of sofas arranged into a semicircle in front of a television screen.

Dartemis groans audibly as he realises that there's an image on the screen – an image of him and Lathenia. The first thing that strikes me as odd, as I take a seat in between Ethan and Neriah, is that Lathenia's eyes are the same colour as Dartemis' when they were silver in our realm, but because Lathenia was taken over by a rift spirit and eyes are windows into people's souls, I'm guessing that this is her real eye colour.

"Have you all met Lathenia's daughters, Thea and Carina?" Athenia asks.

There's an assortment of yeses, nodding and noises of agreement.

Athenia smiles. "I was just showing Arabella, Arkarian, and Isabel how similar they are to Dartemis and Lathenia."

Dartemis mumbles. "This is going to be embarrassing."

"It's okay." Lorian replies. "I wasn't there then, I don't think."

Athenia points a finger at the screen and the images move.

Dartemis glares at Lathenia, who collapses, giggling madly on the floor.

"You looked so stupid!" She says in her laughing fit. "You still have 'idiot' tattooed on your forehead."

"Shh!" Dartemis hushes her. "It's covered up by my hair. I wonder if Lorian will notice what you did to me."

"You deserved it!" Lathenia replies, throwing a book at her brother's head. She misses and it lands on the floor by Dartemis' feet. He laughs. "At least I don't have 'idiot' tattooed on my forehead."

"It won't come off!" Dartemis hisses.

Lathenia sniggers. "And here's me thinking you like it so much you're keeping it."

Dartemis gasps. "You knew it wouldn't come off! That is really evil!" He folds his arms across and glares at her sulkily.

Then he laughs.

Lathenia raises her eyebrows.

Dartemis elaborates. "I won't have to go to the next thing Mum makes us go to. She won't want me to be out in public with 'idiot' tattooed on my forehead."

"Yeah but you see, when you ask us – which you do all the time – do I have idiot tattooed on my forehead, we'll be able to say 'yes you do'."

"So? You'll have to go and I won't." Dartemis sticks his tongue out at her. The present day Dartemis groans. Lorian snickers.

Lathenia returns the gesture. "I'll get Lorian to get me out of it."

"He won't."

"He will."

"Not"

"If I annoy him enough he will."

"Not."

"Will."

"Not."

Lathenia throws another book at her brother. This one, like the last, misses its target by quite a lot. "Will." She says sticking her tongue out at him as she leaves the room.

Dartemis sighs, returning the books to their previous places in the bookshelf. Then he follows his sister out of the door.

The scene changes: It's the same room but Lorian is sitting in one of the chairs with his foot all bandaged up and Dartemis is sitting in the chair next to him. Present day Lorian groans as present Dartemis snickers.

"Lorian, are you sulking?" Dartemis laughs.

"What? No, why would I be sulking?" Lorian questions, eyeing his brother critically.

"You practically bit Lathenia's head off earlier, and she hadn't done anything – yet." Dartemis added, after a pause. "And you're stuck here until you're fully healed but you're still not allowed to eat anything."

Lorian mutters something under his breath that the camera doesn't pick up.

"I didn't mean to."

"Yes you did!" Lorian exclaims. "You shot me! And now I don't even know where I put the gun!"

"Knowing you, you'll stand on it and shoot your other foot."

"I don't walk into the same chair every morning!"

"I do NOT walk into the same chair every morning!"

"Yes you do! Both Lathenia and I have noticed."

Lathenia enters the room wearing a white dress, held in at the waist with a red golden sash, and carrying a pair of stiletto heels. She sits down beside Dartemis.

"This sucks." She grumbles. "Why do I even have to go to that stupid place anyway?" She hits Dartemis with one of her high heels.

"Ow! What was that for?" Dartemis exclaims.

"You were just there, and you shot Lorian." She answers. "And how the heck am I going to walk in those?"

Lorian laughs. "Well, you put one foot in front of the other and fall over quite a bit."

She throws the other shoe at him. "You're not helping!"

Athenia comes into the room. "Dartemis get in the shower and get that ridiculous piece of writing off your forehead. Lorian go upstairs and get ready."

Lorian says. "What? I'm not going!"

"Yes you are." Athenia answers as Dartemis leaves the room. Lathenia is pouting in her sulking fit.

"I am not! I can't get a single pair of shoes on, so I can't go. You don't want me going around barefoot, do you?" Lorian persists. "I mean it wouldn't look good for you as a mother, and remember what happened with the priest."

"This time you're going to keep your mouth shut, and not do anything to embarrass us or yourself. Now get ready now!"

"But I don't even want to go. They speak rubbish and it's so boring!"

"It is your duty."

"Well that's just tough! I didn't ask for this!"

"Lorian, get ready now, there are clothes on your bed."

"But how are you going to explain my foot?"

"A stray bullet from the gun I keep in the house for protection. Now change!"

Lorian leaves the room with a disgusted expression on his face. Moments later he's back. "I am NOT wearing that!" He insists.

**AN: Sorry, I had to cut it short. I'm getting kicked off the computer again but I wanted to update after I wrote all this, even though it's not that long. That little video thing does continue next chapter with Lathenia and Dartemis changing their hairstyles for the worst and Lorian sulking.**

**Please review :-p**


	7. Introductions

**AN****: Sorry it took me so long to update. I wanted to do another little idea. Anyway, here's the chapter. It's basically the second half of last chapter. Enjoy…**

**Rochelle**

Dartemis laughs. Lorian glares at his brother. "At least I rebelled against that monstrosity."

Dartemis shrugs. "It wasn't _that_ bad."

"It was. It really was."

Athenia sighs, pointing her finger to the screen to make the clip continue. This time, the scene it shows is of the palace on fire. Flames are consuming the roof and walls, but the windows remain sealed with a silver metal. There's the sound of roaring flames and a woman screaming.

Lorian's voice comes through, a little muffled but otherwise calm and controlled. "Dartemis, can you trace my signal and tell me where I am right now?"

Dartemis' voice is right by the camera and not at all muffled. "I'll try."

"Well hurry!" Lorian answers. "Lathenia, can you _please_ stop _screaming_?"

The screaming stops abruptly. Dartemis says. "Third floor, you are in the dining room. The higher up you get the better. Don't go down; the flames are worse there."

There is a loud creaking noise. Lorian replies. "Is there a window in this room?"

"Yes."

"Which direction?" The creaking noise returns, even louder. "I don't like the sound of that. I need to know now. I can't keep the flames back much longer."

"I'm going as quickly as I can! Can't you look for the window?"

"I can't see through the smoke, and I can go wandering around searching for it with my fingers _and_ fight the fire, now can I?" The creaking noise is even louder now. "I need to know now! If I just randomly aim, I'll almost certainly hit a wall, and this place is really weak. The whole thing will fall if I miss. But you need to work quicker, 'cause it's gonna fall soon anyway."

The screaming starts again. Dartemis curses. "No, the main computer is too damaged; it won't work. Can you get to left wing? The metal protecting the glass dome there hasn't engaged; you'd just be able to climb up the stairs and get through."

"No. The stairs collapsed ages ago, didn't they? And we're pretty much trapped in here. Now listen carefully to what I've got to say: this is not a natural phenomenon, it wasn't started by an electrical fault either. Someone must've started this fire because I can't control it. I've even tried using water to stop them. Nothing's working."

It sounds as though some floor above where Lorian and Lathenia are has collapsed, with the loud crashing noise. "My computer system is working again!" Dartemis exclaims.

Lorian says. "I'm gonna have to hurry you with your answer now."

"How much time do you think you've got?"

"Not much. A couple of minutes tops."

"I'll see what I can do."

There's a loud creak before an explosion shatters the right side of the house. The wall on that side just completely collapses, dragging several rooms down with it. There's nothing but a loud hissing noise from the little device Lorian had used to communicate with Dartemis, and total silence from Dartemis himself.

The silence lasts a few moments before a loud squeal sounds from behind the camera. There's then a thud and laughing from Dartemis. "Don't ever do that again!" He pauses. "Where's Lorian?"

"I'm right here. But there is absolutely no way I'm running when I don't have to!"

Athenia points a finger at the screen, turning it black. Now I understand why the goddess was afraid of fire. It would appear as though some traits were passed from her to the spirit that controlled her body.

Athenia moves over to the window, where she gazes out for a moment before turning to face us all. "Dartemis take our guests to the dining room, lunch is ready, and a meeting must be called with the council. It appears that the wizards are feuding with the magicians again, and they should not be burdened with our problems so soon after arriving."

Dartemis nods, leading us all to a room with a very large table, made from a black wood I've never seen before. I slip off my gloves as I sit down, allowing the wood to touch the bare skin of my hand. But its origin is alien to me. The table is old – very old but there is nothing else is presented to me. The information is a completely different language.

It's not long before we're joined by Lorian and the two red-heads, Thea and Carina. Dartemis clicks his fingers and we're each given a plate of roast chicken, something that we all like eating. The meal is eaten in silence.

Finally, when the food is gone, Arkarian pipes up. "Who are this council?" he enquires.

Lorian replies: "They are made up of the leaders of every group of people in this realm: The immortals, the Moinni, the magicians and the sorcerers. The wizards, who are rogue magicians, aren't included in this council, and won't be until they agree to our alliance."

I can't keep my mouth shut. "Why? Is it because they don't believe in the same things as the magicians?"

"No." It's Dartemis who answers this one. "They want to eradicate the magicians because they are more powerful and they come from all backgrounds. They are people with potential, and only those who want to become magicians do it. I mean, take Lorian for an instance, we were both offered a place to become a magician, but Lorian chose to remain a warrior instead. Though why he couldn't be both, I don't know."

"I didn't have the time. I used to work twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week for six months at a time." Lorian defends.

"So, who are these leaders then?" Matt asks.

Dartemis answers this one too. "There's my mother, High Priestess Aryanna, Professor Tormor, and Sorceress Robyn."

Thea adds. "And sometimes the lady Goddess and the one we call the lord of darkness. He's not evil or anything; you'll understand if you see him."

"We don't have a religion." Carina states. "A lot of immortals worship them but we don't. They're not Gods; they are the beings of the heart of the realm. They direct that power into the earth and occasionally punish people or reward them with a visit and a year of good crops or something."

Thea continues. "But the power people hold is not set by them. It is what we naturally have, and it is not possible to strengthen them, only to draw out the power already held within us."

"How often do these beings come?" Neriah questions.

"I've only seen them once." Dartemis answers. "And that was because I was with Lorian. And I only saw her. But you can hear them speak if you go near the heart of the realm."

"I've seen her a couple of times and him briefly." Lorian says. "I was there in one of the council meetings, then she directed Dartemis and I to some place through the tunnels."

"Do you think she'll come now?" Carina asks Lorian.

"Maybe." The elder brother replies.

Dartemis scoffs. "I doubt it."

Athenia enters the room. "Lorian, the council wish to speak with you about the rift, and girls, your wish to meet the lady Goddess is about to come true."

**AN: Sorry, the hairstyle changes piece will have to wait another chapter or so. Next chapter will see the lady Goddess and the lord of darkness – and Isabel gets a big surprise.**

**Thanks to LLAMAS WILL RULE THE WORLD! And Reasonable for reviewing.**

**Please review :-p**


	8. Surprises

**AN: Sorry it took me so long to update but I do have three stories on the go, which I've said that I'll try to update soon. My other fic, Alcoholic, will be continuing at some point, but not right now. I'll probably start that during the summer holidays.**

**But anyway, here's the chapter…**

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Got. I'm not getting paid for this anyway, so what would be the point in suing?**_

**Isabel**

It's been more than an hour since Lorian went into the lounge where the council are meeting. Dartemis has gone to some place I've never heard of, leaving us named and the tribunal in the dining room with Thea and Carina, both of whom are exited by the prospect of meeting the lady Goddess and the lord of darkness.

Thea, I've found, wants to become a warrior like Lorian was once, whereas Carina just wants to have a comfortable family life. These sisters are so similar in appearance, and quite different in appearance. They both have Lathenia's sleek red hair but where Carina has Lathenia and Dartemis' golden eyes, Thea has violet eyes like Lorian and Athenia. Also, despite being the shortest and youngest by three years, Carina is curvier than slim and tall Thea.

"So what does she look like, this lady Goddess?" I ask Thea, the elder sister has managed to befriend all of us named with her warm, friendly manner and similar goals as us. She's actually more like a younger version of Athenia.

Thea grins. "I've never actually met her and I don't trust the description the city priests teach." She sighs. "They say that the lady Goddess is a being that appears to be made purely of golden light. Her eyes are the colour of gold like Dartemis, Mother and Carina's. Her hair is apparently also gold. You get the idea. Her lips are supposedly a cherry red though."

"And the lord of darkness?" I prompt.

"Oh, he's different all together. Apparently, he has hair as black as night, skin of pure white and eyes a purple so dark it's almost black. He is said to have been immortal once before going into the heart of the realm at the age of twenty. The lady Goddess supposedly raised him as her own and brought him up to become the lord of darkness, for once you are trapped in the heart of the realm you can no longer live a normal life. He rarely visits the surface world because it reminds him too much of the life he lost.

"They say that the heart of the realm draws in those with the most potent power but only those will enough will power to resist the pull will live on if they enter." Thea explains.

I raise my eyebrows. "That's a bit odd isn't it? Because surely, if you have enough will power to resist it, you won't enter anyway! So how did this lord of darkness get in the heart of the realm?"

"Well, his youngest sister ran into the heart of the realm and he followed to save her. She was killed instantly."

I can just imagine the dark-haired figure in a dark following the small girl dressed all pretty in pink, her hair, so like his and yet so different, curling down her back as she leapt into the floating sphere of bright white light.

"Nadia!" He calls out, his survival instinct kicking in just in time for him to stop before he too falls into the white glowing sphere.

When he gets no reply, his instinct forgets his own survival and he cares about is hers, for without her, he's nothing. He dives into the sphere. Not even the glowing white light is enough to deter him from the possibility of saving his sister.

He hits something hard: the floor. He finds that it's freezing cold then he goes numb. He can feel nothing but sheer determination. He was in charge of his sister. He should have been watching her, and that makes this all his fault. If he hadn't turned his back on her… He only took his eyes off her for a second. He is so sure it was not long. But what does it matter now?

He has to find her, but his legs seem unwilling to obey his commands. He opens his mouth to cry out her name but no sound will come. He's powerless, completely, utterly powerless. And it scares him. Painstakingly slowly, he forces his legs to support his wait. He has to find her. It's his fault she's here. He has to bring her home. He can't fail.

I take in a great big gulp of air. Thea sends me a look that radiates sympathy and understanding. Dillon stops mid sentence.

Thea smiles. "You saw it too, didn't you?"

"What?" I ask. "What do you think I saw?"

She projects the image of the first bit of that strange half-vision. I wasn't a vision 'cause they're more painful. It was like I _became_ that boy. I felt what he felt, and yet I could see him. I don't understand it. Breathlessly, I nod.

Thea frowns slightly, an expression I've seen so many times on her Uncle. "You have some psychic ability then. I saw it too. One of my uncles told me that story when I was a small child. I can't remember which one it was; they looked too similar then. It was their mannerisms – and their eyes – that used to give them away. But anyway, it doesn't _feel _like a vision –you can see him, and yet you still feel what he does and know his thoughts. Tell me; are you a truthseer, Isabel?"

"No." I answer. "I'm a healer."

"I see Gran will have fun teaching you. She's a healer." Thea says, lightly. I get the feeling she's trying to change the subject and lighten the mood.

"What are you then?" I ask.

She opens her mouth to reply but before she can speak, the door opens and through it steps a woman with golden hair that ripples down her back like liquid light. This can only be the lady Goddess, with the softly glowing golden skin rather like Lorian and Dartemis', Golden eyes like Dartemis, Lathenia and Carina's, and the cherry red lips just as Thea described her.

Her voice, when she speaks, is soft and persuasive, strange for someone who's supposedly a goddess. "Ah, you are the Guardians of Time Lorian speaks so highly of." She turns to Lady Devine. "Devine she called you, for you were the most Devine thing she had laid eyes on for months. She wrote a letter, addressed it to Lorian, then she did the thing all mothers say they would do, but few have the courage to actually go through with: she saved your life by sacrificing her own. Brave? Yes. Clever? Amazingly so. But not well thought through. Things never are in this household. In this household, people must be fast thinkers to keep things going. Despite all, you are lucky, lucky to exist, lucky to be a part of this, lucky to have a family that loves you."

She then gestures to Thea and Carina. "And you are the elder daughters of Lathenia. Carina, so much like the woman herself. You are kind and modest in a way. You like to be feminine, unlike her, but you are still practical. Be careful, be cautious but bold, strong but weak, and most importantly – listen carefully for I will not repeat this and it is of the utmost importance to you – never forget what's under your nose may be more than you desire."

She turns her attention to Thea. "You are different all together. You are not unlike you Uncle Lorian – the defiant one of the two brothers – but you are a little more cautious than he, which on the whole is a good thing, but be warned and don't let it get in the way of your own needs. Be the voice of reason but do also remember that of Chaos."

"She turns back to Lady Devine. "Have you not yet noticed the similarities between you, Lathenia, Lorian, Dartemis, Thea, Carina and Athenia? You have the same blood red hair but the eyes of your father – a blue so dark it was sometimes unrecognisable a blue. But enough, I am not here to spin a web of riddles. There are a set of three daughters belonging to Lathenia and her warrior love. You are the third daughter – the daughter who journeyed to the earth realm and back through the rift and survived, a little debilitated but alive and easily healed by someone like me." She disappears and materialises in front of lady Devine. She takes the tribunal member's hand. I can feel the energy she's transferring from here.

Lady Devine slumps in her chair, her peaceful breathing being the only sound coming from her. The lady Goddess is quick to assure us that she'll wake soon. Her eyes fall on Arkarian, her expression softening to an apology. She rushes over to his side and lays her long-fingered hand on his shoulder. "You took the arrow. You knew but you said nothing. You waited to be told. It was a brave thing you did. You truly are your father's son." Arkarian opens his mouth to speak but she hushes him. "Shh, don't speak. I shall heal you. Don't worry; your wishes will be respected. You will become the immortal you were supposed to be all those years ago." She adds something at a whisper and I do not hear it. Then the energy transfer begins. This time, the power radiating from her is so great that I almost fall off my chair.

As Arkarian too slumps in his chair sleeping peacefully, her gaze meets mine. I don't try to stifle my gasp. This is like my initiation all over again…

"Isabel, I have something important to tell you…"

…Her eyes are so much like those of Dartemis!

**AN: Okay, I know that wasn't very good or very long. I have my little piece of **_**joy**_** right here. I call it Jimothy the second. It is my writer's block. But anyway, the joyous thunderstorms have been back over Great Britain and that's the reason for my late update: I've been writing this in between the storms.**

**Who can guess the lady Goddess' news?**

**Thanks to all my reviewers**

**Please review :-p**


	9. Gifts

**AN:**** Sorry it's taken me ages to update, but I have some good news: I've sent Jimothy the Second to Hawaii for a while! Yay! So anyway… ON WITH THE STORY!**

_**Disclaimer: I don't own GoT but I do own**__** the plot, Thea, Carina, the Moinni, and any other characters you don't recognise from Marianne Curley's trilogy.**_

**Ethan**

The lady Goddess approaches Isabel, and takes her hands. "…You are lucky enough to know that Arkarian is your soul-mate. Had Arkarian not been injured, Lorian would have taught him to bestow upon you the gift of immortality. However, Arkarian does not know about this, so in order for you to live a similar life span as the one you love, I offer you the gift of immortality. Should you choose to accept it, you would feel a tingling sensation then sleep for half an hour like Arkarian and Devine. Would you like to speak with your friends and half-brother before you give me an answer?"

Isabel's eyes travel around the table, connecting with mine briefly as they do. I nod and grin before they move on to Matt's. Matt, unsurprisingly, is smiling. Isabel turns back to the lady Goddess. "No thank-you. I accept your generous offer."

The lady Goddess smiles welcomingly. "Good. Isabel Beckett, I give you the gift of immortality."

Isabel smiles then goes limp on the chair. I'm glad she accepted; it's a really generous gift and she deserves to be able to live with Arkarian; those two are just so right for each other. The lady Goddess comes to stand between Rochelle and me.

She smiles again. "You two should not be here yet. You should not be here at all. In fact, if Arkarian hadn't taken your place, Rochelle, you may not have been able to be here. You must leave this place for your own realm. You will not be allowed in until you have finally noticed what's been right under your nose all this time. I think you've begun to notice at last but please admit to it before it's too late!"

"What do you mean 'before it's too late'?" I demand. My eyes flicker to Rochelle and I find she's nodding.

She's the one who answers me. "The arrow that Arkarian took was meant to be for me. I saw it in Isabel's thoughts when Lady Arabella was trying to bring Arkarian back. Isabel's visions showed the prophecy being fulfilled with me being shot through the heart with a poisoned arrow – the arrow that hit Arkarian."

I am speechless for once. I look round at the people at the table. Only Thea and Carina will meet my gaze and they weren't in our realm! It appears as though everyone knew but me and Rochelle! Matt sends me a look that says sorry. Neriah's sympathy is obvious and Dillon is too busy scrutinising the table to notice me looking at him.

The lady Goddess continues. "Now listen carefully, Lorian is the only one who can and will override my will. He created the rift and believes in people making their own mistakes, so would let you in if you wanted to come back. I won't let him let you back in until I think you're ready.

She addresses all in the room. "There are many conditions of this that you must all be aware of. For starters, Lorian has frozen the time for the rift and also the aging process of those of the named who were not empowered with the skill of defying that process temporarily. This means that when Ethan and Rochelle go back through the rift, the rest of you will be back through too, so no-one can say anything about what happens when Rochelle and Ethan come back to them. When Rochelle and Ethan return, they in turn will not be able to reveal anything to everyone else other than the things that concern them.

"For instance, if Dillon's pet monkey died, then Dillon must not be told, but if Rochelle loses her arm in a car crash, she can explain its absence to everyone here but they must not go home to their realm and say that Rochelle will lose her arm in a car crash."

Lorian's voice makes me jump; I hadn't seen or heard him come in. "I didn't plan for this, and I'm not happy about it either; it seems so complicated and yet I can see why it is good, in a way." His eyes lock on to mine before singling out Rochelle's. "Make use of the time you're getting."

The lady Goddess speaks again. "Does anyone have any questions before Rochelle and Ethan leave?"

Everyone is silent for a moment. But then Rochelle speaks. "Why are you sending us back?"

"Because you need that time away from here. You deserve that time away from the things that will happen here." The lady Goddess states. "Are there any more questions?" Nobody speaks. She nods. "Rochelle, Ethan, say your goodbyes now. I will be expecting you to leave in an hour. For now, I will leave you all to yourselves."

I find myself swallowing. Somehow, I don't protest although normally, I'd want to stay with my friends and help them because I can tell that the things going on here are not going to be particularly pleasant. A part of me understands that this is the right thing to do but another part of me doesn't want to leave my friends to face this thing together. If Rochelle will go, then so will I. She's a friend too and I won't let her go home on her own.

The lady Goddess disappears in a flash of light. A random period of time goes past in silence; it's probably only a minute but it seems like an hour. Then Lorian speaks in his usual intensely serious tone. "If you find that you really need to come back, call my name in the trees by the lake that conceals the city of Veridian, and I will know if you have to get back or not, then I may let you in. The lady Goddess plays games, she doesn't lie, she just tells half-truths. She explained to me why she wants you to go away and, for now, I agree with her, but if that changes you will know about it."

Dartemis materialises beside his brother. "The council has ended." He spots Arkarian, Lady Devine and Isabel all slumped in their seats. "Oh… Have I missed something interesting?"

Lorian laughs. It makes him look a lot more youthful. "You could say that."

**AN: Sorry, that was a bit short but Jimothy the Second just came back.**

**Me: (sniffs) Jimothy, Why? Why couldn't you stay in Hawaii?**

**Jimothy the Second: (Would shrug but can't 'cause of the blockiness of him – well he is a block) Meh.**

**Me: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! WHY DO YOU TORMENT ME WITH YOUR SILENCE?!?!?!?!**

**Anyhoo, tell me what you think of this chapter; any feedback is greatly appreciated. Ooh! I just had an idea! But not for this fic though… ******** Oh well, I'm going on Holiday on Sunday, and I will write then so I can update when I come back…**

**Thanks to everyone who's reviewed, especially LLAMAS WILL RULE THE WORLD 'cause she's reviewed loads.**

**Please review :P**


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